The Marauders Year 1
by R. E. Pearson
Summary: The Marauders at school
1. September 1st

**AN- sorry I haven't worked on this fic in a while, but I'm splitting up the chapters so it will be easier to read**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter **

James Potter woke up on the 1st September feeling like it was any other day. Then he remembered- Hogwarts. His mum and dad had been talking about it for years. Being in Gryffindor, not getting into too much trouble (he had his father's rebellious streak), what teachers to be wary of, living up to expectations and going on to a worthwhile occupation in the Ministry of Magic. James had been prepared for this day all of his life, so when it arrived he wasn't surprised that he didn't feel excited. His trunk was packed, his father did that for him and his mother had ironed some muggle clothes and put them over the back of his chair. Even Penelope, his owl, was in her cage ,clean and ready to go.

He picked up his wand, new from Olivanders, and imagined all the magic he would learn. Of course, with parents who were also wizards, he knew a bit about magic. He looked forward with maybe being able to outshine some of his classmates with the spells he had been practising. Surely, not many 1st year students would be able to walk into Hogwarts and cast 'Expelliarmus' straight away. And he could _fly_. Ok, on a broomstick, but surely there was a spell to make him fly on his own, right? He was slightly disappointed, although, that he had to leave his broomstick, the Nimbus 1000, at home because first years weren't allowed them. Shame.

He got dressed, and picked up all of his stuff ready to go downstairs. He left his messy room, then re-entered. 'History of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot was still on his bed. He hastily put it in his trunk and left, knowing the next time he saw his room would be Christmas.

When he got downstairs his mum tutted and laughed. "Late on the first day ey son?" his dad, Harold joked, ruffling James's already messy hair. James went to the mirror to attempt to fix it but decided to leave it. His hair was messy 24/7 so other Hogwarts students better get used to it.

He carried Penelope into the car, and then his dad brought his trunk and put it into the boot. He stopped James just before he climbed into the backseat, and gave him a large, lumpy bundle wrapped in newspaper. "This was my fathers and his before that. It is an invisibility cloak, extremely rare, and underneath it you will be completely undetectable. Be very, very careful with it, and use it well" his dad glanced nervously at his watch, then at his mother who was now locking the door. "Best be off then" he shouted, and his mother tottled on her heels towards the car. James noted that they too were wearing 'muggle clothes'. This was strange, to see his mother and father wearing jeans and shirts; although the Statue of Secrecy that hid wizards from muggles had just been revised, and they already would look pretty out-of-the-ordinary pushing a trolley around King's Cross with a caged owl on it looking for platform 9 and three quarters.

Although James only lived 20 minutes from the centre of London, he never had been until his visit to Diagon Alley a few weeks ago. He preferred to spend his time flying, or bickering with Peter Pettigrew, a son of one of his father's workmates, who also was going to Hogwarts. James liked Peter, who was a small rat-like boy; and regarded him as a loyal friend, with maybe a spot of hero-worship for James. Being an only child, James was used to this and infact he revelled in it. Arrogant he may be, but James thought he was worth it.

They arrived at Kings Cross and hastily made their way to the platform. It was only 10:45, but James wanted to find Peter- and a good seat around plenty of witches. They went to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, and James's father went through first, followed by James, then his mother. Standing on the platform, looking at the black and scarlet red train, the excitement started to kick in for James. "Wow" he said, as a man in robes took his trunk off his father. "Wow" his dad repeated with a smile "Well you have a good year Jamesy, and don't forget to write to us!" "We love you James" his mother exclaimed, tears rolling down her cheeks "have a good term, and we will see you at Christmas"

He hugged his mother, and spotted Peter walking toward him, grinning and waving madly. Peter was a short boy, about a foot smaller than James (though- James was tall for his age) and a little bit round, due to his mother's wonderful cooking. James knew if he lived there, he would be slightly overweight too, as she made the best Pumpkin Pasties and magical birthday cakes, which were enchanted to burst into song as the birthday boy or girl blew out the candles. James waved his parents goodbye and boarded the train with Peter, the latter already starting an inane chatter about how it would be great to be in the same house, how he can't wait for them to make more friends, and how he hoped they would be in all the same classes. James let him, and found a cabin that was empty, apart from a good looking boy with dark curly hair and an arrogant smirk.

"I'm Sirius" he said, as James and Peter entered "you can come in unless you are obsessed with Slytherin like my family are" James laughed and said "no mate, Gryffindor for me, and Peter here since he's so desperate to be in the same house". Peter let out a small, nervous squeak. He was shy meeting new people. "That's okay then" Sirius grinned, moving his feet off the seat opposite so Peter could sit down, while James sat next to him. "My parents are Slytherin mad, and my brother wants to be one of his followers, a death eater" Sirius continued with a dark look "Pathetic I think, 'Pure' blood and all that, soon as I can I'm going to become an Auror and do some good in the world" James was about to say his dad was an Auror, when a skinny, tired looking boy practically fell into the cabin. "Sorry" he said, embarrassed "I'm Remus, is it okay if I sit in here? I can't stand the guys I was just with, all sons and daughters of You-Know-Who's lot- unless you are too" he looked sheepish then, and began to back away. "No, no!" James exclaimed "Sit down, I'm James and this is Peter and Sirius". Sirius smiled, and Peter moved over on the seat so Remus could join him, giving him an anxious glance, though he seemed more relaxed than he was when it was just him, James and Sirius. Remus produced some chocolate then, from a pocket in his coat, and shared it out between the four of them. "It's Muggle stuff" he said "very sweet; I have a slight addiction to it". "It's good" they all agreed.

James realised he could get used to this, and settled back in his seat, letting his mind be filled with the chatter of the boys, the taste of the chocolate and the sight of the dipping sunset. "We'd better get changed" he said, pulling out his grey jumper, black robes and black hat from his backpack, as his mum had made him wear his shirt and trousers on the train to make changing easier. They were all plain, but his parents had told him he would be given new ones with his house colours once he had been sorted. They put on their robes and adjusted their hats just as the train stopped, so James was proud of calculating the timing right. Both his and Sirius's robes were obviously brand new, while Peter's had a slight stain on them as if he'd tried them on while eating (he probably had James thought to himself) and Remus's looked far too baggy, but together they already looked like four good friends. They made their way off the train, and accidently James knocked into a pretty girl with red hair, who was chatting to a nasty looking boy with greasy hair. "Sorry, didn't see you" James smirked "but isn't he out of your league?" he said, pointing at the boy "come hang with us". The girl glared at him and snapped "No I do not want to 'hang' with you, Severus is my friend and he is way nicer than you" and with that she linked Severus's arm and stalked off, head high. James turned round, and saw Sirius and Remus howling with laughter. Even Peter had a rare grin on his face. "She got you there mate" Sirius said, patting him on the back, and with that they walked over to a giant man who was calling for first years. He walked them over to a lake, where Remus, James, Sirius and Peter climbed into a boat. James scanned the crowd, and noticed the girl sitting in another boat about 20 meters away with Severus. She caught him looking and glared, then looked away. 'She likes me' James thought to himself.


	2. Sorting

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter **

Soon they arrived at Hogwarts, and Giant-man escorted them to the biggest wooden doors James had ever seen. Standing in front of them was a stern looking woman, who introduced herself as "Professor McGonagall", who led them through to a magnificent room. James nudged Peter, who walked next to him, to look up, as the ceiling was enchanted to reflect the sky outside, making it look like it was scattered with thousands of tiny stars. The hall was packed with students who had returned to Hogwarts, and at the front was the teachers table, and Professor Dumbledore. James recognised him from his collection of Chocolate Frog Cards. His father had told James all about him, how he was the best thing to happen to Hogwarts, how he was extremely clever, how he has been offered the position of Minister for Magic and how he famously defeated the Dark Wizard Grindelwald. And in front of Dumbledore was the Sorting Hat.

"I will call your names" Professor McGonagall said "and you will come up, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will decide your house". The students looked around, mostly nodding or looking nervous, then she shouted "Evans, Lily". The girl walked up then, and the hat shouted "Gryffindor", so she walked over to the long table at the far right of the hall which gave a cheer. Severus looked disappointed, but James's want to be in Gryffindor doubled. Then Peter's name was called, and he looked about ready to cry before the Sorting Hat shouted "Gryffindor" once again. And so it went on, Severus became the first new member of Slytherin (to which neither James nor Sirius were surprised), Remus followed Peter to the Gryffindor table, soon to be also followed by both Sirius (to his delight) and eventually James. The four beamed at each other, while Lily Evans kept glancing uncomfortably at the Slytherin Table, where Severus was being patted on the back by a boy with long blond hair, who was wearing a Head Boy badge.

Professor Dumbledore walked forward then, as all the first years had been sorted, and waved his arm, making a great deal of food appear on each of the four tables. Peter immediately helped himself, while Remus looked around in shock, and then James and Sirius started to grab handfuls of food too. Lily looked astounded, and James guessed she was muggle born, and therefore hadn't really seen magic before, then she too helped herself to a plateful- although she just picked at it, still looking rather uncomfortable.

It was a truly magnificent feast, James thought to himself as he drank more Pumpkin juice after he had finally finished his second pudding. Luckily, as he was tall he never seemed to gain weight. Sirius looked like he was the same, as they were roughly the same height. Remus probably was too although he was so skinny he seemed smaller somehow, more frail in comparison. After they were all done, Professor Dumbledore stood up, and started to speak:

"I'd like to welcome all of you, both new students and returning ones, to Hogwarts. Mr Filch are caretaker would like me to say there is to be no magic in the corridors, no students out of bed after hours, no student entering the Forbidden Forest, and no magical pranks of any kind, and any rule breakers will be severely punished. Now I think that's it, so can each House's Head Boy and Girl lead their House to the dormitories please, you will find all your belongings there first years".

The students rose, and James, Sirius, Remus and Peter trailed after the rest of Gryffindor house. "What d'ya say to seeing how many of those rules we can break in one term James?" Sirius asked, winking. James had a feeling he and Sirius were going to be great friends.

They found themselves at a portrait of a fat lady (who turned out to be called the Fat Lady) after a minor drama with Peter nearly falling down some enchanted stairs after they started to move. "Password" it asked, and the Head Boy responded "Quid Agis?" and the portrait swung forward answering "I am very well thank you", to which they all filed through the portrait hole. The Head Boy stopped them then, and told them that the boys dormitories were up the stairs and on the left, with the girls on the right. Shattered, James followed Sirius, Remus and Peter up to the dormitory straight away, and after changing into some pyjamas, fell asleep in the four poster bed he had claimed next


	3. Snivellus

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter **

James and the rest of Gryffindor's first year boys dormitory woke to an almighty crash the next morning, and James noticed Remus wasn't in his bed, which was the closest to the door. He, Sirius and Peter got up then and realised the crash was the 2nd years in the net dormitory. They got dressed and went down to the common room. "Where's Remus?" Sirius asked as they went, but as they entered the common room they found him, asleep and fully dressed on the chair by the fire. "He must've ggg-got lost during th-th-the night" Peter stammered. James walked over to him and gently tapped his shoulder. "Remus wake up" he said "Breakfast time". Remus woke up with a start, then realised where he was. "So we've got a sleepwalker" Sirius smiled "That's cool, I occasionally do too, usually I go into my brothers room and take down his hero-worship for the Dark arts. Or I did, until my dad put a permanent sticking charm on them for him". James laughed, while Remus rolled his eyes, and Peter sat down on one of the sofas. "I wish I had a brother" James said and Remus agreed. Then James started heading towards the portrait hole, saying "so, should we get this day started or not?" They all chucked, and followed him.

When they got to the Great Hall they noticed the tables were full of breakfast things, and that teachers were walking around them, presumably handing out timetables. "Oh yes" Sirius sighed "I forgot we had lessons". "How can you forget we have lessons, this is a school" Remus stammered, choking back laughter. Professor McGonagall walked towards them, and gave them all a piece of parchment which she tapped with her wand, producing four identical timetables.

"Potions first" James smiled "then Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and double Transfiguration. And oh luck, we're with the Slytherin's for 2 lessons". "Yippee" Sirius replied dryly, helping himself to some toast "just when I thought I'd escaped them, they put me in lessons with them"

They made their way to Potions, which was taught by Professor Slughorn. To put it nicely, James would say he looked a little like a walrus. Potions was taught in the dungeons, so it should have been dark, but evidently Slughorn liked light, as he had lit thousands of candles, which floated in mid-air around the room. At the far end of the classroom, behind Slughorn's desk, and indeed Slughorn himself, was a giant shelf, which housed photographs of witches and wizards waving and smiling at the class. James grabbed a seat in the middle of a table for four, so Peter and Sirius were either side of him; with Remus at the far end beside Peter. Professor Slughorn rose from his luxurious armchair as everyone sat down, and magically produced some ingredients on the desk in front of him. "Today class" he said "I want you to make me a Boil-Cure potion, which can be found in your copies of Magical Draughts and Potions. You have one hour"

James flipped through his book, and went up to Slughorn's desk to collect the dried nettles, crushed snake fangs, stewed horned slugs, porcupine quills and Flubberworm mucus that he needed. He poured the basic potion into the cauldron, and followed the instructions, heating it until it became red then green. He then picked up the vial of Flubberworm mucus, which he was supposed to pour in until his potion turned pink, but he added a bit much so decided a baby pink would be okay. Beside him, Peter's potion had gone a nasty shade of grey-green which James was astonished at, as he didn't know it was possible- until he realised Peter had been reading the instructions backwards. James turned back to his potion, and heated it until it became orange, then mixed in the dried nettles so the potion went back to being green, then blue. He was just about to add in the crushed snake fangs when Slughorn called for the end of the lesson. James wondered where the time had went, as he was only half finished- as was Sirius and Remus. Upon inspection by Slughorn, only Lilly and Severus had produced the potions correctly, and they were each awarded 10 house points. Unfortunately (for him) Severus chose that moment to sneeze, and in the process knocked over his potion, to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter's delight. "Snivelus" Sirius jeered. "Don't let him sneeze again Evans" (which was Lily's surname) James continued "he might knock over your work too!". The whole class howled with laughter, and Lily and Severus- or 'Snivelus' as he was now to be named packed all their things away and left.


	4. Snitch

**AN- Last chapter for today readers, this is the new instalment of the boy's adventure, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did I wouldn't be writing this. **

Confident, James and Sirius strode out of the Potions class, followed by Remus and Peter, who was fretting about what they had just done.

"Look Peter" Sirius said to him "If you have a serious problem with us, then don't hang round with us, okay? I'm sure Snivellus and Evans will take you" Peter looked at his feet and squeaked "but I want to be your friend". Sirius edged closer and patted him on the back, before saying "good that's settled then" and James and Remus grinned. The four of them headed off, unaware that above them; they were already getting into serious trouble. Not that it would bother them, as they were contented by the fact they had just made friends for life.

The summons arrived before dinner that night , in the form of Lily Evans, who looked remarkably smug when she told them Professor McGonagall wanted to see them. Remus and Peter glanced at each other worriedly, while James and Sirius looked nonchalant, and they headed towards their strict head of house's office.

"Relax" James told the others, though inside he was beginning to lose his cool. What if they got in serious trouble? His parents would go mental if he got a letter sent home on his first day.

Thankfully, McGonagall was in a good mood, and blamed it on "wanting to look good on your first day" and "nerves at trying to fit in", though she did warn the boys not to make a repeat performance or else they would get detention. They did their best straight faces until they were in the corridor out of sight and earshot before collapsing into giggles and doing a round of high-fives at the fact that they had gotten away with it.

"We should really get Evans back for snitching on us though" Sirius said once the laughter had subsided. "Sure we will" James replied "but once the fuss has died down. Let her think she's got away with it, then surprise her". Sirius glanced at his friend then smiled, "I like the way you are thinking", he said. "Of course you do" James laughed, jokingly rather than arrogantly. They all made their way back to the common room, plotting the perfect revenge, still elated at the fact that they had gotten away with it. "Plus" James said, pausing at the portrait hole "McGonagall has already got a soft spot for us, and I doubt Evans will snitch again".

"Not when she sees what snitching does, right?" Peter said timidly. The other three boys looked at him in surprise; he had barely said a word all day. "Right" they agreed, and James put his arm around him to help him through the portrait hole.


	5. Transformation

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter**

Remus Lupin woke up at 1 am, after only having an hour sleep, and crept out of the dormitory. He could feel the moon's power talking to his body, coaxing it to become the monster it really was. Quickly, he rushed out of the common room and down the stairs. He made his way out of the castle as fast as he could, and ran straight to the Whomping Willow, which had been planted especially for him.

He stopped and pulled out his wand, saying the spell Professor Dumbledore had taught him- "Wingardium Leviosa"- that would make the tree stop attacking him long enough so he could access the secret passage away from the castle that was buried beneath its roots. Remus jumped in, and he could already feel the skin on his hands becoming covered with thick fur, as his fingers swelled, and his nails became hard and sharp, for the killer he could become. That's why Dumbledore made this passage for him, so he could transform safely without being a danger to others. He started to sprint, and around halfway his back arched, which meant it would be easier for him to run on all fours.

He quickly removed his pyjamas- once he had truly transformed they would be destroyed and he didn't fancy going back up to the castle naked- and started running again until he reached the shack at the end of the passage. It was dark and desolate, and had been abandoned fifty years ago according to Dumbledore. It was out of the way of Hogsmede village, so he wouldn't be seen. If he got caught, he wouldn't be able to attend school.

Remus howled in pain as the transformation really kicked in. his knees buckled and his legs grew longer, making him around a foot taller than his actual height. His back arched some more, and thick brown fur covered his whole body. Transforming was painful, and Remus had started to take Wolfsbane potion to help ease the transformation, but it would take a few cycles for it to have any effect. Until then, Remus had to deal with the excruciating pain, as his neck cracked and his skull widened, giving him the head of a wolf.

The werewolf howled and paced around in circles, while the Remus inside of him waited for the night to end. Occasionally it would bite and scratch parts of its skin and fur, as werewolves were meant to hunt and kill.

Outside, in the nearby village of Hogsmede, residents were awoken by the howls from the shack. Frightened, they arrived at the conclusion it was haunted, as they had always suspected that the woman who had once lived there had killed her husband then ran away. From then on, the shack was named "the Shrieking Shack" and was named one of the most haunted places in Britain.


	6. Evans

**AN- welcome to chapter 6! Sorry for not having a regular update thing, my life is quite busy at the minute! **

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter. **

James was the first one in the dormitory awake the next morning, and noticed that yet again Remus was missing. Sleepwalker was the first reason James thought of, or he had nightmares, or he was sneaking off to meet someone. Sleepwalking was more likely to James, who often sleepwalked himself. In fact, he probably had already in his time at Hogwarts. He got dressed quickly and silently before heading for a walk to the owlery to post a letter to his mum and dad.

It was a pleasant morning as James walked over to the tower where the owls were kept, and James was looking forward to seeing his tawny owl Flame, which he had been given for his eleventh birthday. However, as James walked into the owlery he noticed he wasn't alone, as Lily Evans was also sending a letter. She didn't notice him walk in, so James took for granted his first opportunity to look at her properly, especially without Snivellus being there. She was pretty, quite short but with long flame-red hair. James thought he might be able to put the last few days behind him and make friends, and then she ruined that by noticing him.

"Oh it's you" she said huffily

"Pleasure to see you too on this fine morning Miss Evans" James replied, in a deliberately bright tone of voice used especially when others were mad at him.

"Whatever" she said, turning back around to her owl.

James sighed, but didn't make any further comment as he gave Flame a treat and the letter, and sent her to his parents. He watched her fly away through the early morning sky and left the owlery. It wasn't until he was half way down the stairs he noticed Lily was following him.

"Potter!" she shouted, catching up with him before continuing "why were you so mean to Severus? Because he didn't deserve that"

"Evans, your parents are Muggles right?" James asked. He would never, ever say the word 'mudblood'

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It just means that you don't know that there are wrong types of wizard yet, because the wizarding world is so new to you" James said gently, not really wanting to anger her. She looked like she could throw a good punch if she wanted to. "Take anyone in Slytherin, like Severus" he continued, being sure to use Snivellus's proper name "they are bad wizards, from generations of bad wizards. They aren't to be messed with. I'd stay away from them if I was you"

"Because I can't handle myself? Because I'm muggle born? Because I'm a girl? I think I'll decide who the good and bad wizards are for myself" Lily said, before storming away angrily. Not wanting to look like he was following her (even though they were in the same house) James decided to go to the Great Hall for breakfast.


End file.
